PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ALGERIA

MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

UNIVERSITY OF TLEMCEN

FACULTY OF LETTERS AND LANGUAGES

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

Interference of Standard Arabic in EFL Academic Writing: Case

of First Year LMD Students of English at Tlemcen University

Dissertation Submitted to the Department of English as a Partial Fulfilment of the

Requirements for the Degree of Master in Language Studies.

Presented by: Supervised by:

Ms. Amina ABBAS Prof. Rahmouna ZIDANE

BOARD OF EXAMINERS:

Dr. Fatima Zohra KHERBACHE (MCA) Chairperson (University of Tlemcen )

Prof. Rahmouna ZIDANE (Prof) Supervisor (University of Tlemcen )

Mrs. Nassima HAMZA CHERIF (MAA) Examiner (University of Tlemcen )

Academic Year: 2018-2019

DEDICATION

To my dear parents Fatima and Mohammed who continually provide their moral,

spiritual, and emotional support.

To my beloved brothers and sisters: Abdel Karim, Ibrahim, Halima and Zineb.

To my relatives and my intimate friends: Meriem and Nour El Houda.

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to Almighty Allah

who has given me the strength to complete this research work.

My sincere thanks and appreciation go to my supervisor “Prof. Rahmouna ZIDANE”, because

without her help, this dissertation could not have been completed. I am grateful for her

patience, support, and professional guidance.

I would like to express my thanks also to the members of jury: “Dr. Fatima Zohra

KHERBACHE” and “Mrs. Nassima HAMZA CHERIF” for their time in reading and

evaluating this research work.

In addition, I am thankful to teachers of comprehension and written expression and 1st year

students at the University of Tlemcen who have accepted to answer the questionnaires.

My deep appreciation also goes to all the teachers who have taught me at Tlemcen University,

and my classmates who have provided me with many valuable references and advices which

helped me to complete this dissertation.

Abstract

Writing error-free essays is a very hard and challenging task for EFL students

especially during their first years of learning. In fact, first year EFL students at

Tlemcen University make a significant number of errors in their academic writing.

Thus, this exploratory research work aims at investigating the relationship between

students’ native language (Arabic) and their errors. To achieve this purpose, the

researcher administered a questionnaire to five (5) CWE teachers of English at Abou

Bekr BelKaid University of Tlemcen to find out the main reason behind making those

errors and to suggest some solutions to avoid such a problem while writing. Moreover,

another questionnaire was administered to seventy students of first year. The data that

were gathered from both teachers’ and students’ questionnaires revealed that first year

EFL students make a lot of errors and the main reason for them is their first language

(Arabic) negative transfer. Furthermore, first year EFL students rely mainly on their

L1 linguistic features in their English academic writings.

Table of Contents

DEDICATION…………………………………………………………………………….....I

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………..…………………………………...II

ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………....III

TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………………………IV

LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………….…...V

LIST OF FIGURES ………………………………………………………………..VI

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS……………………………………………….………VII

General Introduction……………………………………………………………………..…1

Chapter One: Literature Review of Writing and Language Transfer

Theory

1.1 Introduction ………………………………………………………………….5

1.2 Definition of Academic Writing …………………………………………….5

1.3 Types of Academic Writing………………………………………………….6

1.4 The writing Approaches……………………………………………………...7

1.4.1 The Product Approach………………………………………………….7

1.4.2 The Process Approach………………………………………………….8

1.4.3The Genre Approach……………………………………………………8

1.5 Writing in a Foreign Language………………………………………………9

1.6 The Differences between Arabic and English Writing Systems……………..9

1.7 Approaches to Language Transfer Studies………………………………….11

1.7.1 Contrastive Analysis…………………………………………………...11

1.7.2 Language Interference Approach……………………………………...12

1.7.3 Error Analysis………………………………………………………..12

1.7.4 Interlanguage Analysis……………………………………………….13

1.8 Interference of Arabic in English Writing………………………………....14

1.9 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………15

Chapter Two: Case Study

2.1 Introduction ………………………………………………………………..17

2.2 Research Objectives………………………………………………………..17

2.3 The Sample…………………………………………………………………17

2.4 Research Instruments………………………………………………………18

2.4.1 Teachers’ Questionnaire……………………………………….....18

2.4.2 Students’ Questionnaire…………………………………………..19

2.5 Data Analysis………………………………………………………………19

2.5.1 Teachers’ Questionnaire Analysis………………………………..19

2.5.2 Students’ Questionnaire Analysis………………………………...23

2.6 Data Interpretation…………………………………………………………28

2.7 Suggestions and Recommendations……………………………………….29

2.8 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………30

General Conclusion ……………………………………………………………31

Bibliography…………………………………………………………………...33

Appendices………………………………………………………………….…38

Appendix A : Teachers’ Questionnaire………………………………....39

Appendix B : Students’ Questionnaire…….……………………………42

Summary……………………………………………………………………………45

List of Tables

Table 2.1: Types of Errors……………………………………………………………20

Table 2.2 The Effects of Arabic Interference………………………………………...22

Table 2.3 Students’ Arabic Writing Level……………………………………………24

Table 2.4 The Extent of Thinking in Arabic While Writing……………………...…..25

Table 2.5 The Extent of Transfer From Arabic to English…………………….……...26

Table 2.6 The Relationship Between Learners’ Errors and Arabic Transfer to

English…………………………………………………………………...27

List of Figures

Figure 2.1 Reasons of the Arabic Transfer in English Writing……………………….21

Figure 2.2 Students’ English Writing Level…………………………………………..24

Figure 2.3. English Writing State among 1st year LMD Students of English……...…25

Figure 2.4 The Degree of Making Errors While Writing in English………………….26

List of Abbreviations:

EFL: English as a Foreign Language.

FL: Foreign Language.

CWE: Comprehension and Written Expression.

CWP: Comprehension and Written Production.

TL: Target Language.

L1: First Language.

L2: Second Language.

ESL: English as a Second Language.

TESOL: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.

VSO: Verb+Subject+Object.

CA: Contrastive Analysis.

CAH: Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis.

SLA: Second Language Acquisition.

EA: Error Analysis.

IL: Interlanguage.

1

General Introduction

Teaching and learning a foreign language is considered as the most difficult

task for both teachers and learners. It demands considerable knowledge of different

teaching methods and strategies in order to help foreign language learners to be

competent and proficient in the target language. Thus, the process of learning a foreign

language requires cognitive and linguistic skills from the part of the learner who needs

to make an intensive practice of the rules in order to develop his productive skills

(speaking and writing) to reach proficiency and accuracy in the target language.

However, in the process of foreign language learning, learners tend to find

many problems when learning and applying the rules especially the grammatical rules.

These difficulties are clearly seen when they have to write down or produce a writing

piece in the target language since they make a lot of errors which are said to be the

result of the differences between learners ‘mother tongue (L1) and the target language.

Hence, studies in second language acquisition have shown that in the first stages of

learning a foreign language, learners tend to return to their native language rules when

they face difficulties in applying foreign language rules; either in their speech or while

writing. This is what has been referred to as the interference of the mother tongue or

language transfer.

Learners’ errors in writing a foreign language have been a central interest for

many applied linguists and educators. There have been extensive studies that were

conducted to investigate the main reason for EFL learners’ errors while writing. Thus,

it was remarkable that they tend most of the time to refer and use linguistic features of

their mother tongues (L1) when it comes to writing in the target language. However,

the differences between the two language writing systems make the learner face

difficulty in applying FL rules. This is why foreign language students make different

types of errors in their FL writings.

English in Algeria is taught as a second foreign language in school and

university. However, Algerian students are most of the time exposed to their native

2

language. This situation causes interference of Arabic (as the mother tongue) at the

moment of learning the English language. This problem of transfer is evident when it

comes to using the productive skills (writing and speaking) as opposed to the receptive

skills (reading and listening).

Thus, this research work is an attempt to explore the extent to which

interference theory meets practice in the EFL academic writings of first year LMD

students at the University of Tlemcen. In addition, this study aims at finding out the

effects of the transfer between Arabic and English in academic writing settings. Thus,

this work could contribute to the understanding of the reasons behind the different

types of errors that are made while writing in English as a foreign language. Moreover,

it could help EFL teachers in providing solutions for the effects of Arabic interference

in English academic writing of their students. Consequently, the researcher strives to

answer the following research questions:

1-Is there an influence of the Arabic language on the EFL academic writing

performance among 1st year LMD students at the University of Tlemcen?

2-What are the effects of the transfer from Arabic to English on academic writing?

The above mentioned research questions led to formulate two hypotheses:

1- There is an interference of Arabic in EFL academic writing among first year LMD

students at the University of Tlemcen.

2-There is a negative transfer from Arabic to English which leads to make many types

of errors while writing academic essays.

In fact, the eagerness to reach the previously set objectives drives the researcher

to design an exploratory case study research dealing with first year English students at

Abou Bekr BelKaid University of Tlemcen. This case study will collect qualitative and

quantitative data from different sources relying on a set of research instruments: a

questionnaire for learners, and a second one for CWE teachers. The results will be

analyzed on the basis of a mixed approach combining qualitative and quantitative

methods.

To carry out this case study research, the present work is purposefully divided

into two chapters. The first chapter reviews the literature on academic writing issues,

3

and provides the theoretical background for language transfer theory. It seeks to draw

a clear description of interference theory as it relates to learners, teachers, and the

learning/teaching writing environment. The second chapter deals with the research

design and methodology through a detailed description of the data collection

procedures and the research instruments. Moreover, it is concerned with the analysis

and interpretation of data. It seeks to answer the research questions by confirming or

rejecting the research hypotheses. Then, it provides some general guidelines and

suggestions to avoid the negative transfer between Arabic and English while writing

academic essays. In addition, it highlights some solutions and strategies to reduce EFL

learners’ errors in academic writing. Furthermore, these suggestions seek to ensure

that Algerian EFL classroom provides an appropriate place for teaching/learning

writing in English.

4

Chapter One: Literature Review of Writing and Language Transfer

Theory

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Definition of Academic Writing

1.3 Types of Academic Writing

1.4 The writing Approaches

1.4.1 The Product Approach

1.4.2 The Process Approach

1.4.3The Genre Approach

1.5 Writing in a Foreign Language

1.6 The Differences between Arabic and English Writing Systems

1.7 Approaches to Language Transfer Studies

1.7.1 Contrastive Analysis

1.7.2 Language Interference Approach

1.7.3 Error Analysis

1.7.4 Interlanguage Analysis

1.8 Interference of Arabic in English Writing

1.9 Conclusion

5

Chapter One: Literature Review of Writing and Language Transfer Theory

1.1 Introduction

In this chapter, the researcher focuses on investigating the case of Arab

learners’ interference of their mother tongue (Arabic) while writing in English. Thus,

this chapter provides a theoretical analysis and explanation to different writing issues,

language transfer approaches, error analysis and contrastive analysis to show the

differences between the Arabic and English systems in order to find out the reasons

behind EFL learners’ errors and to try to suggest solutions and procedures that can be

followed by EFL teachers to help their students reduce their errors when producing a

writing piece in English.

1.2 Definition of Academic Writing

Writing as a productive skill is considered to be the most complex process and

difficult skill in comparison with the other language skills: listening, speaking, and

reading; since it requires more knowledge of the mechanics of writing (such as

capitalization, punctuation, and other writing conventions), and considerable cognitive

abilities and efforts on the learner’s part to reach an acceptable level of writing

(Hamadouche, 2010).

In this respect, Jozef (2001, p.5) claims that “writing is among the most

complex human activities. It involves the development of a design idea, the capture of

mental representations of knowledge, and of experience with subjects.” Writing, as an

important skill in language teaching and learning, is defined by various scholars. “…it

is also international and social, expressing a culturally recognized purpose, reflecting

particular kind of relationship and acknowledging an engagement in a given

community (Hyland, 2003,p 42).

Academic writing means to move ideas from your head to report information

efficiently to the readers (Johnson, 2016). In pedagogical settings, academic writing is

perhaps the most important skill required in higher education. It is, thus, a central

element in language teaching and learning and the basis of academic communication,

6

academic performance, as well as academic achievement and success ( Hamadouche,

2010).

Therefore, academic writing is a very challenging and hard task for language

learners, which demands great efforts and skills in order to produce a cohesive and a

coherent piece of writing whatever its type is.

1.3 Types of Academic Writing

Academic writing is used to write academic reports, inquiries , and persuasive

essays in academic settings. At the university level, language learners are generally

asked to write paragraphs ,in their first years, and then essays with their different types

depending on particular conventional forms in different contexts.

Concerning writing a good paragraph, EFL learners should focus on three main

parts. The first part is the topic sentence. It is the most important sentence in a

paragraph because it tells the reader what the topic of the paragraph is.The topic

sentence is usually the first sentence in a paragraph. The second part is the supporting

sentences. They support the main idea in the topic sentence in details. The last part is

the concluding sentence. This sentence remarks the end of the paragraph. It

summarizes the key points of the paragraph.

However, writing a good essay ,with its different types, follows the form of : an

introduction ( it should attract the reader’s attention, define the topic and briefly tell

the reader what the essay will be addressing), a body ( it states the full content of the

essay). It is divided into paragraphs, each of which must have one specific idea to the

end and all the body paragraphs should be related to the topic and a conclusion.

Language learners, must differentiate between the following major types of

essays. A narrative essay tells a story or a past event from a certain viewpoint. All

narrative essays have characters, setting, climax and most importantly a plot, which is

the focus of the story. It highlights sensory and emotional details. So, the reader will

experience the story and not only read about it. A descriptive essay describes traits and

characteristics of people, objects, events, feelings to allow the reader to experience the

topic being described as vividly as possible. A good description involves the reader’s

7

senses and emotions by using figures of speech such as metaphor and simile ( Atlee,

2005).

An expository essay gives facts, informs and explains various topics to the

reader. An argumentative essay argues and defends a specific opinion or viewpoint in

order to convince the reader. This is a subjective essay in which the writer makes an

argument for or against something and supports it with data and some kind of evidence

( Perutz, 2010). These are the four types of essays that university students are often

required to write. Thus, researchers and teachers of written production have tried to

provide a variety of writing approaches to help learners reducing their problems while

writing.

1.4 The writing Approaches

There are several approaches that have been adopted in comprehension and

written production (CWP) classes. The focus has shifted from sentence structure and

grammar drills to usage and text organization in teaching writing. The following

shows some well-known approaches to teaching writing.

1.4.1 The Product Approach

The traditional product-oriented approach is one of the earliest approaches to

teaching writing as stated by Tangpermoon (2008). It has been called by several

names: the controlled- to- free approach, the text- based approach and the guided

composition ( Raimes, 1983; Silva, 1990). This approach focuses on students’ final

production (i.e. the text they are asked to produce). In other words, it gives importance

to the end product rather than the process itself. Furthermore, the product approach

relies on providing the learners with pieces of writing such as sentences or paragraphs

and asking them to make grammatical and lexical changes ( Nemmouchi, 2014, p.32-

33)

In addition, the text-based approach is interested in three main points, which are

grammar structures, content, and vocabulary. Hence, it gives importance to the

linguistic aspect of the language; and the main goal of the writer in this approach is to

be skillful in the use of grammatical and lexical systems of the language (Nemmouchi,

2014). However, the product-oriented view of writing instruction failed to give

8

students formative feedback while giving them summative feedback. It emphasizes on

the structure of the language and does not focus on the communicative aspect

(Hamadouche, 2010). Thus, this helps the rise of a new approach as a reaction to the

drawbacks of product-oriented approach; which is the process-oriented approach to

teaching writing.

1.4.2 The Process Approach

From the 1970s to the early 1980s, writing research developed a reaction to the

restrictions presented by the product- based approach, and the process- oriented view came

to the scene (Dahaj, 2012). Thus, the process approach focuses primarily on what students

do while writing ; it concentrates on the writing process instead of the final product

(Nemmouchi, 2014). In addition, this approach is an activity in which teachers encourage

students to see writing not as grammar exercises, but as the discovery of meaning and

ideas ( O’Brien, 2004 as cited in Tangpermpoon, 2008).

Process- based approaches are well-known tools for writing instructors to teach

writing since they have a number of benefits. Learners can improve their writing step by

step and clarify their own thoughts. Moreover, teaching the writing process can give

students the key to be skilful writers (Nemmouchi, 2014). On the other side, the process-

oriented approach has some limitations. For instance, students have to spend quite a long

time to produce one particular writing piece in the classroom (Sun, 2009). Thus, another

approach came to the scene.

1.4.3 The Genre Approach

Since the 1980s, the genre approach to teaching writing has taken place under

different forms in different parts of the world and for different goals. The genre- based

approach is concerned with teaching genres that students need to learn in order to

succeed in some situations. In fact, there may be an emphasis on the content and context

of the text (Nemmouchi, 2014, p.44). . Moreover, the main focus of this approach is to

integrate the knowledge of a particular genre and its communicative purpose

(Tangpermpoon, 2008).According to Nemouchi (2014, p.44):

the fundamental principle that underlies the genre-based approach is that language

is functional; that is, it is through language that we achieve certain goals. Language

9

occurs in particular cultural and social contexts, and thus, cannot be understood outside

its context.

In this regard, genre in writing is a type of writing which has a typical style,

particular readers and a purpose (Thoreau, 2006 as cited in Dirgeyasa, 2016). In other

words, genre covers three spects writing style, readers, and goal (goal-oriented).

Furthermore, genre writing sees writing from different perspectives (Dirgeyasa, 2016).

The genre-based approach is a very helpful method of teaching writing. It really guides

students to write from the simple to independent steps . However, this approach has some

negative sides. For instance, learners may not have enough knowledge of vocabulary to

express ideas to an audience (Tangpermpoon, 2008).

In fact, the strengths and weaknesses of each writing approach previously described

show that the three approaches to teaching writing complement each other. Thus, a good

writing teacher should know about the different writing approaches and to use them at the

appropriate time. That is, the teacher should act as a facilitator of the learning process in

writing classes, especially, in a foreign language.

1.5 Writing in a Foreign Language

Writing in a second or foreign language is quite different from first language writing in

nature. As Silva (1993) points out, second and foreign language writing tend to be more

difficult and less effective than L1 writing. Thus, the interdisciplinary nature of this field

aims at making relations with other fields of research. However, the field of writing still

develops from to literacy education in addition to pedagogical, methodological and

theoretical perspectives (Fujieda, 2006 as cited in Javadi-Safa, 2018).

Although writing in the first language is a demanding activity, the task becomes

more challenging when it comes to second language writing at all stages, particularly

essay writing, because in this process, writing is usually extended and ,therefore, it

becomes more demanding than in the case of writing a short paragraph (Ghodbane,

2010). In fact, foreign language learners can improve their writing abilities and skills by

following some steps.

10

1.6 The Differences between Arabic and English Writing Systems

The writing system of a language is defined as “a standardized set of graphic

symbols used to represent the speech sounds, syllables, morphemes or words of a given

language” (Al-Jarf. R, 1994:p1).Thus, considering this definition, Arabic and English

writing systems are very different in a number of significant ways. the English language

is a West Germanic language. It is descended from “the Indo-European languages

family”. It contains 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, and 44 sounds. There are 20 vowel

sounds and 24 consonant sounds ( Rao, 2015).

Arabic is the largest member of the Semitic languages. It is descended from

“Proto Semitic” in the “Afro-Asiatic” groups. It has 28 consonants that are represented

in the written form by 28 letters. Thus, these consonants can be short (kataba) or long

(ka:taba). However, the vowel system in Arabic is triangular, i.e. there are three vowels

in their short forms which are represented by diacritics ( ‾ ’ ), and three long vowels that

are represented by letters ( واي ) . In addition, the Arabic writing system has a

fundamental characteristic which lies in its tri- consonantal organization of roots. That

is, the root of Arabic words is tri-literal (3 letters). For instance, the word kataba has its

root √ktb ,and the vowel a is secondary in the written form (Dada and Ranta, 2007).

In fact, the Arabic vowels do have an important role since they make

consonants move (that is why vowels are called movements or motions), and also, they

are used for inflection (which is changing the form of words to express a grammatical

function). Moreover, the allowed syllable structures of Arabic words are: cv, cvc,

cvcc, cvv, cvvcc. There is no syllable in Arabic that begins with a vowel, and also,

there is no word that begins with consonant cluster except in dialectal Arabic.

Furthermore, sentences in Arabic are divided into two types. The first type consists of

two nouns that make up a complete meaningful sentence without the use of a verb.

This type is composed of the inchoative (the noun that begins the sentence), and the

predicate (the noun that gives information about the inchoative). This type is a verbless

sentence. The second type takes the form of VSO that is verb+subject+object (

Shaady, 1995).

11

1.7 Approaches to Language Transfer Studies

In facilitating EFL students to produce effective paragraph writing, foreign

language teachers and researchers on second language acquisition tried to understand

learner’s errors, which are related to their L1 interference, in order to find solutions for

their writing problems in the target language. Thus, there are four approaches to study

this issue: contrastive analysis, language interference, error analysis, and interlanguage

analysis (Bennui, p.74-75).

1.7.1 Contrastive Analysis

Before the emergence of SLA theories and applications, Charles Fries (1945),

an American linguist, was much concerned with how languages could be best taught

and learned (Mahmood and Murad, 2018). Thus, contrastive analysis is said to be born

on the basis of the assumption that foreign language teachers could predict language

learner’s errors and mistakes. Therefore, they could help them overcome their

difficulties by comparing the target language to their mother tongue. Contrastive

analysis became an important sub-branch of linguistics and language learning since it

aims at devising L2 materials for teaching. In this respect, Al- Sibai (2004, p2) said

that: “ Some researchers even believed that when similarities and differences between

an L1 and an L2 were taken into account, pedagogy could be more effective and

useful.”

In 1957, the American linguist Robert Lado introduced in his book: Linguistics

across culture the hypothesis which soon came to be called CAH; in which he

suggested that L1 transfer affects L2 acquisition (Yi, 2012). In this view, said that:

“those elements that are similar to the [ learner’s ] native language will be simple for

him, and those areas that are different will be difficult” (Lado,1957 as cited in

Archibald, 1998, p.50). He added that one explanation is that a learner is applying his

mother tongue habits in the 2nd language and he called this interference, following

Weinreich (1953). In fact, the implications of this term are that the learner’s mother

tongue prevents the acquisition of L2. thus, the objective is to try to devise methods of

teaching to overcome the difficulties (Khansir, 2012)..

12

In 1970, Wardhaugh defined CAH as “ the claim that the best language teaching

materials are based on a contrast of the two competing linguistic systems.” Thus, CAH

is an extension of the notion of CA. It emerged at the time of structural linguistics and

behavioral psychology dominance. Furthermore, assumed that: “ we can predict and

describe the patterns that will cause difficulty in learning, and those that will not cause

difficulty, by comparing systematically the language and the culture to be learned with

the native language and culture of the student”. (Lado, 1957 as cited in Archibald, 1998,

p.50) That is, elements that are similar to the learner’s language are easier to acquire

than those that are different.

1.7.2 Language Interference Approach

Language interference means that a speaker or a writer applies knowledge of

his/her native language to a second or foreign language. Language interference is also

called : language transfer, linguistic interference, and cross-meaning. Language

interference can be positive or negative. On one hand, it is positive when the two units

or structures of both languages are similar which results in a correct production of the

foreign language. On the other hand, it is negative when different units or structures of

both languages interfere in the learning of the second language ( Sid, 2016, p.10-11).

1.7.3 Error Analysis

The weak version of CAH was the beginning of a new way of considering

language errors. In fact, it was later (1970’s) named error analysis (EA). Its aim was to

detect sources of errors. Thus, EA was an alternative to CA which has survived in this

paradigm; because foreign language researchers cannot deny L1 influence on L2

performance. However, this new approach was to limit analysis to the examination of

errors. Therefore, CAH (the strong version) was weaker and CA (the weak version)

became stronger. Corder (1967) distinguishes between errors and mistakes. Mistakes

are types of random mistakes that language learners make as in slips, occasional lapses

in performance, confusion,

Thus, according to Corder (1999): “ A mistake is a problem not of knowing but

of application”. That is, students when they make mistakes, they are aware of language

rules but while applying them ,for some reasons, they make such mistakes. Errors are

13

usually systematic in performance reflecting incomplete mastery of aspects of the

learned language. Thus, errors reflect gaps in learner’s knowledge. According to Corder

(1999): “Errors are caused by ignorance of the appropriate rule or structure in its foreign

language”. So, while mistakes are a problem of application, errors are a problem of

knowledge (Valero, 2008).

According to Touchie (1986, p.78), types of Errors are: intralingual and

interlingual errors. Interlingual errors are due to the difficulty of the second/target

language. Intralingual and developmental factors include the following:

Simplification: Learners often choose simple forms and constructions instead of full

ones. For instance, an Arab learner of English may say: “I studied English for ten year”.

In this case, the learner thinks that number “ten” is enough to signal plurality, i.e. for

him, there is no need for “s” in the word “year” which is an error in the English language.

Overgeneralization: it is the use of a linguistic form in one context and applying it to

other contexts where it should not be applied. For example, the use of the past form “ed”

with all English verbs in the past.

Hypercorrection: sometimes, EFL learners try to make many efforts to avoid errors.

However, this hypercorrection leads them to make errors. Stenson (1978) calls this type

“induced errors”. For instance, the teacher’s insistence that Arab learners of English

should produce the phoneme IpI correctly prompts them to always produce it where the

phoneme Ibl is required (Touchie,1986, p.78),

Interlingual errors are the errors that are caused by the interference of the native

language (Richards, 1971, p.205). For example, “this is the book which I bought it last

week”. It is the case of Arab learners of English to use the repetition of the object

pronoun “it” which is caused by the negative transfer of their first language (Arabic);

whereas, in English it is considered as an error.

14

1.7.4 Interlanguage Analysis

By the mid 1970’s, Corder and others moved to a more wide-ranging approach

(than CA and EA) to learner language known as “interlanguage” (IL). This term was

coined by Selinker (1972) , though Weinreich had mentioned the situation between L1

and L2 (1953). Interlanguage has been considered as a continuum between L1 and L2

along which all learners evolve. In fact, IL has been regarded as a dynamic linguistic

system that L2 learners develop in particular when they get close to the target language

proficiency (Nordquist, 2018).

The concept of interlanguage was developed by Selinker. In particular, this

phenomenon was reffered to as “approximative system” by Nemser (1972) and

“transitional competence” by Corder (1972). Indeed, it was Corder’s paper “The

Significance of Learners’errors” (1967) which gave the start to research and theorizing

in IL (Chabane, 2017).

This approach of IL may occur through three processes: preserving features

from L1, overgeneralizing L2 rules, and creating innovation ( e.g., air-ball). Thus, IL

is based on a theory that there is a “psychological structure latent in the brain”. This

latent structure is triggered as soon as someone begins learning a second language. In

addition, in the process of learning a second language, L1 is the source language,

which provides the initial building materials, which are then blended with materials

taken from L2. This can result in making errors (Nordquist, 2018).

1.8 Interference of Arabic in English Writing

The most problematic issue for Arab learners of English is the interference of

their first language (Arabic) in their writing in English at an early level. They generally

15

tend to think firstly in Arabic and then to translate those ideas into English, and since

the two language writing systems are not the same, Arabic students of English make a

great number of errors. Therefore, the native language which is Arabic will mostly

dominate on the use and application of new rules of English. Arabic speaking learners

make a translation from Arabic into English, This wrong transfer between Arabic and

English leads learners to make a lot of errors (Hamar, 2017).

1.9 Conclusion

As a conclusion to this chapter, language interference is regarded as a central

issue in the field of SLA and Applied Linguistics. It came as a main idea by

contrastive analysis approach which aims at investigating the similarities and

differences between learner’s native language and the target language. This helps

researchers in the field of second language teaching and learning understanding the

reasons behind foreign language learner’s writing errors that are caused by the

negative transfer , and most importantly, to find solutions to reduce those errors. The

following chapter will be devoted to the practical part.

16

Chapter Two: Case Study

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Research Objectives

2.3 The Sample

2.4 Research Instruments

2.4.1 Teachers’ Questionnaire

2.4.2 Students’ Questionnaire

2.5 Data Analysis

2.5.1 Teachers’ Questionnaire Analysis

2.5.2 Students’ Questionnaire Analysis

2.6 Data Interpretation

2.7 Suggestions and Recommendations

2.8 Conclusion

17

Chapter Two: Case Study

2.1 Introduction

The previous chapter was entirely devoted to the theoretical part of this research

work. This chapter is exclusively devoted to the practical part, which deals with data

collection, analysis and interpretation of results. It also provides suggestions and

solutions to the problem of Arabic interference in English academic writing.

2.2 Research Objectives

As mentioned before, the aim of this study is to explore the extent to which first

year LMD students of English apply language transfer theory in their academic

writing. In addition, this research work tries to explore the effects of the transfer from

Arabic to English during the writing process. In other words, the purpose of this work

is to know whether first year EFL students at the university of Tlemcen refer to some

linguistic patterns and structures of their first language (Arabic) or not while they are

asked to write academic pieces. Then, it tries to find out if the interference of Arabic in

EFL learners’ writing is more positive or more negative (if there is an interference).

2.3 The Sample

Sampling is defined as “the process of selecting certain members or subset of

the population to make statistical inferences from them and to estimate characteristics

of the whole population” (QuestiionPro Survey, 2019). In this research work, the

researcher has chosen the representative sampling paradigm in order to reach the

research objectives. In social sciences, representativeness can only be assumed if the

characteristics of the sample group match those of the large (target) population (

Podesva and Sharma, p.74). For this reason, the researcher has selected five (05)

English teachers of comprehension and written expression and 70 EFL students of first

year at the university of Tlemcen.

18

2.4 Research Instruments

In order to collect data about the problem of interference of Arabic in EFL

academic writing, two research tools were used: one questionnaire was administered to

CWE teachers in the department of English, and another questionnaire was given to

EFL students. These research tools helped the researcher to collect more information

in a short period. In addition, the questionnaire is an easy method for collecting data in

the field of Applied Linguistics. The former aims at reaching generalization to the

target population which is, in the present study, EFL students at the university of

Tlemcen.

2.4.1 Teachers’ Questionnaire

A questionnaire is a research instrument that is consisting of a series of

questions for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. It provides a

relatively cheap, quick and efficient way of obtaining large amounts of information

from a large sample of people. Thus, the questionnaire is a very useful research tool

especially when another type of research tools would be impractical.

In the present study, a questionnaire was administered to five (5) teachers of

comprehension and written expression module. It is composed of nine (9) questions.

These questions are composed of four (4) close-ended questions which are number (1,

3, 4 and 7), and five (5) open-ended questions which are (2, 5, 6, 8, and 9). Thus, the

purpose of both close-ended and open-ended questions is to explore whether first year

LMD students of English make a transfer from Standard Arabic, which is their first

language, to English, which is the second foreign language, or not while writing in

English. Moreover, teachers’ questionnaire aimed at finding out the effects of the

studied problem (interference) on students’ academic writing, and examining the

relationship between their errors and the interference of Arabic in English writing.

Then, the last question was devoted to CWE teachers’ suggestions and strategies to

solve the issue of the negative transfer from SA to English while writing, and to reduce

the errors made.

19

2.4.2 Students’ Questionnaire

The researcher has administered a second questionnaire to first year LMD

students of English. It is composed of ten (10) questions that are divided into seven (7)

close-ended questions and three (3) open-ended questions. These questions are divided

into three sections: the first section aims at collecting data about EFL students’

background concerning their Arabic and English writing levels. The following section

attempts to examine the extent of application of the Arabic transfer in EFL writing of

first year students and its relation with their errors. The last section is devoted to

provide solutions and suggestions to reduce the effects of the subject matter on the

writing performance of EFL students (if not possible to avoid it).

2.5 Data Analysis

After collecting data from both teachers and students’ questionnaires, the

researcher has analyzed them both quantitatively and qualitatively to reach the

research objectives. Quantitative data analysis aims at making generalization about the

extent of using Arabic linguistic features while writing in English among first year

LMD students. On the other hand, qualitative data analysis helps the researcher to

provide an explanation, understanding, interpretation of the results, and to state some

solutions and recommendations in order to reduce and avoid learners’ errors.

2.5.1 Teachers’ Questionnaire Analysis

The researcher has collected data about the interference of the Arabic language

in EFL academic writing from the CWE teachers’ experiences and observations while

teaching writing in the classroom. The collected data is analyzed quantitatively and

qualitatively as follows:

Question One (01): Do 1st year EFL students make a lot of errors in their

writing?

From their answers, the five teachers of written expression claimed that

EFL students of 1st year make a lot of errors, and no one of them replied with “no”.

20

Question Two (02): What kind (s) of errors do they make?

Teachers’ answers are summarized in the following table:

Table 2.1: Types of Errors

Type of Errors: Number of Teachers: Percentage:

Tense 04 80%

Misuse of articles and Prepositions 03 60%

Sentence structure 03 60%

Subject-verb agreement 02 40%

spelling 01 20%

Pronoun agreement 01 20%

From the results mentioned in table 1, it is observed that most of CWE

teachers (80%) claimed that first year LMD students at the university of Tlemcen have

problems with putting the right tense and applying tense rules. Then, 60% of teachers

stated that first year EFL learners misuse articles , prepositions, and have problems

with sentence structure. 40% of them agreed that 1st year students do not make

agreement between the subject and the verb in a sentence. However, only 20% of

CWE teachers claimed that their students commit spelling and pronoun agreement

errors.

Question Three (03): Do you think that 1st year EFL students make a transfer

from Standard Arabic to English while writing?

The answers of teachers stated that all of them agreed on the existence of

the issue of transfer from the students’ native language to English as their second

foreign language when they are asked to write in English among 1st year students at

the university of Tlemcen.

21

Question Four (04): If yes, is it more positive or negative?

The results revealed that four (4) teachers claimed that the interference of

Arabic in English writing is more negative than positive. However, one teacher stated

that the transfer is both positive and negative; and that it depends on the linguistic

units that will be transferred between the two languages.

Question Five (05): Why do they make such transfer?

The answers are summarized in the following figure:

60%20%

20% Translation fromArabic to English

Lack of LexicalCompetence (vocabulary)Lack of Reading inEnglish

Figure 2.1 Reasons of the Arabic Transfer in English Writing.

From the above pie chart, it is observed that the majority of CWE teachers

(60%) stated that the reason behind learners’ transfer is the translation from Arabic

linguistic items to English, while 20% claimed that 1st year LMD students of English

make a transfer when they lack lexical competence in the target language (English).

The same percentage was given to say that EFL students lack reading skills in English.

Question Six (06): In your opinion, what are the effects of Arabic interference?

Teachers’ answers about this question are summarized in the following

table:

22

Table 2.2 The Effects of Arabic Interference.

Effects Number of

Teachers:

Percentage:

An Arabized English is produced. 01 20%

Vagueness and not clear sentence structures e.g., run-

on sentences.

03 60%

Problem of Syntax (lot of grammatical mistakes). 05 100%

Non-suitable vocabulary (word choice). 02 40%

The above table states that all teachers (100%) agreed on the effect of

making a lot of grammatical mistakes when translating Arabic structures to English. In

addition, 60% of CWE teachers claimed that EFL students’ sentences are vague in

meaning, unclear, and not well- structured. On the other hand, 40% of them stated that

Arabic affects writing non- suitable vocabulary, i.e. EFL students have a problem of

word choice. The other remaining effect is the production of an Arabized English.

That is, they give the English language the characteristics of Arabic structures and

features. This effect was represented by 20% of CWE teachers.

Question Seven (07): Do you think that 1st year students’ errors are caused by

Arabic interference?

The results revealed that three (3) of CWE teachers thought that students’

errors are because of the Arabic interference in English writing. However, two other

teachers claimed that there are other reasons for 1st year students’ errors and not the

Arabic interference.

Question Eight (08): If yes, please provide examples (how?).

Only one teacher who provided two examples about the negative transfer

between Arabic and English writing, and those examples were explained as follows:

Example 1: “The last week” from the Arabic phrase" األسبوع الماضي" . This

Arabic transfer is negative and it produces an error in English ;because in English, it is

23

“last week” without the use of the definite article “the” ,unlike Arabic which needs the

definite article “ال”.

Example 2: “to be angry from” is wrong in English because normally it should

be written “to be angry with”. In this case, the learner transfers from his first language

(Arabic) the phrase “من غضب” and translates it to English. This transfer leads him to

commit an error while writing in English.

Question Nine (09): According to you, what are the suggestions and strategies

to avoid language transfer errors?

CWE teachers suggested making lectures in Linguistics about the common

effects of L1 interference with examples. In addition, teachers called for the need of all

CWE and CWP teachers to urge their learners to read English books in a non-stop way

(extensive reading). Moreover, it was stated that EFL students have to learn rules

concerning tenses, and to to pay attention to the subject/verb combination.

Furthermore, it was suggested that English learners should check the words in

dictionaries (English/ English dictionary). Finally yet importantly, teachers of

comprehension and written production suggested a strategy to reduce language transfer

errors, which is to do online interactive grammar exercises to write frequently, and to

have teacher’s feedback on students’ writing.

2.5.2 Students’ Questionnaire Analysis

From 1st year students’ questionnaire, the researcher has analyzed the data

collected both qualitatively and quantitatively to reach the research objectives. This

questionnaire is divided into three (3) sections ,as mentioned below, in order to be well

organized, structured, and analyzed.

Section One (1): Students’ background About Arabic and English Writing

Levels.

Question One (01): How do you evaluate your Arabic writing level?

In order to identify students’ writing level in Arabic, their answers are

illustrated in the following table:

24

Table 2.3 Students’ Arabic Writing Level.

Arabic Writing Level: Number of Students: Percentage

Weak 05 7.14%

Average 15 21.43%

Excellent 50 71.43%

The above table shows that the majority of 1st year students had an excellent

writing level in Arabic (71.43%), while only 21.43% of them were average, and very

few students (7.14) had a weak level in Arabic writing.

Question Two (02): How is your writing level in English?

In order to know learners’ English writing level, the following pie chart is

taken into consideration:

10%

78,57%

11,43%Weak

Average

Excellent

Figure 2.2 Students’ English Writing Level.

It is noticeable from the pie chart 2 that most of 1st year students had an

average level of English writing (78.57%). On the other hand, the others had a weak

(10%) or an excellent level of writing (11.43%).

Question Three (03): According to you, writing in English is easy or difficult?

Students’ answers are summarized in the following pie chart:

25

Figure 2.3. English Writing State among 1st year LMD Students of English.

From the above pie chart, it is observed that the majority of 1st year students

of English considered writing in English as an easy task, while only 17.14% of them

considered English writing as a difficult task.

Section Two (2): The Extent of Arabic Transfer Application and its Relation

with Students’ Errors.

Question Four (04): Do you think in Arabic when you are writing in English?

Students’ results are summarized in the following table:

Table 2.4The extent of Thinking in Arabic While Writing in English.

Option: Number of Students: Percentage:

Yes 49 70%

No 21 30%

Seventy percent(70%) of 1st year LMD students confirmed that they think

in Arabic when they are writing in English. However, thirty percent of them confirmed

that they do not think in Arabic while writing in English.

Question Five (05): Do you translate from Arabic to English while writing?

In order to know if 1st year LMD students of English translate Arabic words

and structures to English, informants’ answers are summarized as follow:

Table 2.5The Extent of Translation From Arabic to English.

26

Option: Number of Students: Percentage:

Yes 40 57.14%

No 30 42.86%

From the above table, 57.14% of students translate linguistic items from

Arabic to English, while 42.86% do not make a translation from Arabic to English at

all.

Question Six (06): Do you make a lot of errors while writing in English?

Students’ answers revealed the following:

Figure 2.4 The Degree of Making Errors While Writing in English. From the above pie chart, 71.43% of English 1st year students agreed that they

make a lot of errors in their writing. On the other hand, 28.57% of them claimed that

they do not commit many errors while writing in English (even at all).

Question Seven (07): If yes, why?

Students’ reasons about making too many errors revealed that 1st year

students of English are very weak in grammar and do not have excellent basis of

grammar rules. In addition, they stated that they have problems with spelling because

27

they know the pronunciation of words but do not know how it is spelled. Moreover,

some of the students claimed that it is logical for them to commit errors because

English is not their native language and that they are still in the 1st year i.e. they are

still learning. Furthermore, some of them stated that errors are caused by the

translation from Arabic to English especially when they do not know the appropriate

word or structure. For them, too, errors are caused by the lack of practice and

knowledge about the English language.

Question Eight (08): Do you think that these errors are caused by the

translation from Arabic to English most of the time?

Informants’ results stated the following:

Table 2.6 The Relationship Between Learners’ Errors and Arabic Translation

to English.

Option: Number of Students: Percentage:

Yes 47 67.14%

No 23 32.86%

From these results, it is noticed that 67.14% of 1st year students claimed that

there is a relationship between their errors and the translation from Arabic to English

while writing. However, some of them (32.86% ), considered their errors because of

other reasons and not because of the Arabic translation.

Question Nine (09): If yes, how?

First year students stated that the translation from Arabic to English could

not keep the same meaning especially when they use Google translation. Then, others

mentioned that Arabic and English do not have the same grammatical rules, which

leads them to make errors in English. Moreover, some of them stated that

remembering words is hard and takes a long time to do so. This is why they prefer to

translate Arabic words to English.

28

Section Three: Suggestions and Strategies.

Question Ten (10): According to you, what are the suggestions to avoid the

problem of translation from Arabic to English?

Students answered this question by stating some suggestions to help EFL

students to avoid this issue of transfer, which leads to making a lot of errors. They

stated that EFL students should not translate items, and to try to learn more English

vocabulary to enrich their writings. Moreover, they mentioned that English learners

should read more books and search about difficult words in the English/English

dictionary. Furthermore, some of them said that English students should never think in

Arabic when writing in English; thus, more practice is required. Last but not least, they

provided that listening to pure English helps them to think in English and not in Arabic

by watching English movies.

2.6 Data Interpretation

According to what have been analyzed from both teachers and students’

questionnaires, first year EFL students frequently make a transfer from Arabic to

English. Thus, English learners tend to think first in Arabic, especially when they

forget the appropriate English words in context, and then to translate those ideas to

English. Therefore, CWE teachers and students’ responses revealed that this transfer

between the two languages leads English learners to make many types of errors such

as the misuse of articles and prepositions, and pronoun agreement ( as mentioned

before). Moreover, English teachers and students provided some reasons about EFL

learners’ errors in English academic writing. For instance, learners of English do not

have good basis in grammar and syntax which leads them to make a number of errors

while writing. Thus, some teachers and students claimed that the errors that are made

by EFL learners are not only because of the negative transfer between the two

languages, and that there are other reasons as mentioned above.

Therefore, the interpretation of data collected from both teachers’ and students’

results helped the researcher to confirm the hypotheses. First, it is confirmed from the

29

analysis of the data collected from the sample that 1st year LMD students of English at

Tlemcen University do make a transfer between their mother tongue (Arabic) and their

second foreign language (English) when writing academic paragraphs or essays. That

is, there is an interference of Arabic in English academic writing among 1st year

students at Tlemcen University. Moreover, the second hypothesis is also confirmed

because the results obtained from the sample revealed that the transfer between the

two languages (Arabic and English) is more negative which causes a lot of errors with

different types in English academic writing among 1st year LMD students.

2.7 Suggestions and Recommendations

The analysis of both teachers’ and students’ questionnaires proved that first

year LMD students at the Tlemcen University have many difficulties concerning

writing in English as their second foreign language. They have stated that they make a

lot of errors with different types in their paragraphs and essays, and most of the errors

committed are caused by the interference of Arabic in their English writing.

Researchers in foreign language teaching and learning have always tried to

study learners’ problems and to find some solutions for them. In the present study, the

researcher has collected some suggestions and strategies from the part of both teachers

and English learners, in order to solve the issue of cross-linguistic transfer. Thus, they

have stated that the best way to not translate or think in the Arabic language while

writing in English is to have extensive reading in the target language (English).

Moreover, it is suggested that learning new vocabulary and the way that words are

spelled is more helpful with watching English movies, especially, films with sub-titles

in English. This helps the EFL students to learn vocabulary as well as the foreign

language structure in a very short period. Then, they can also check the spelling of

difficult words and their meaning with the use of English/English dictionaries.

Furthermore, EFL students should better learn grammar rules through extensive

practice (practice makes perfect). From the part of foreign language teachers, it is

necessary to help their students to avoid or reduce their errors that are caused by the

30

interference of their mother tongues. Thus, CWE and CWP teachers should be aware

of new writing approaches and methods of teaching writing to apply them in their

classrooms with their students. This helps EFL students to know how to write

effectively in English by providing them with some steps and strategies in order to

avoid errors and mistakes. Moreover, it is also necessary for teachers of grammar to

focus on their learners’ errors and to reduce them by giving them many grammar

activities and exercises during and outside the classroom, and to correct them with

clear explanations of grammar rules.

In fact, writing without errors and mistakes in a very hard task for both teachers

and learners, especially, when writing in English as a second foreign language.

However, it is the responsibility of EFL students to make more efforts to be effective

writers and mainly in academic settings.

2.8 Conclusion

Thus, in this chapter, the researcher attempted to analyze qualitatively and

quantitatively the data collected with the use of tables and pie charts, and also to

interpret them in order to link the results with the researcher‘s hypotheses which were

both confirmed at the end. Finally, this research work was an attempt to investigate the

extent of using Arabic linguistic features while writing academic paragraphs and

essays in English. It also aims at exploring whether the transfer between the two

languages is more negative or not; and its relation with EFL learners’ errors at

Tlemcen University by using a questionnaire for both CWE teachers and 1st year LMD

students of English.

31

GENERAL CONCLUSION

Second/foreign language writing is an increasingly important area in the fields

of Applied Linguistics and SLA studies. In this research work, the researcher aimed at

exploring the extent of Arabic interference application in EFL academic writing at

Tlemcen university. It aimed also at knowing whether the effect of Arabic interference

on EFL writing is more negative or not in academic settings. In addition, the

researcher wanted to investigate the relationship between learners’ errors and L1

interference.

According to the data gathered, 1st year LMD students of English at Tlemcen

university do refer to their native tongue (Arabic) while writing in English. Thus,

whenever they are asked to write something in English in academic settings, they tend

the most to think first in Arabic, and then, to translate those ideas into English. This

led them to make a number of interlingual errors such as word-choice.

Therefore, the EFL students make an error in English because of the negative

transfer between the two languages. However, there are other errors that are made by

EFL learners, and which are not caused by Arabic interference. These errors are called

intralingual errors since they happen within the same language system.

According to what has been said, all the research questions in this study were

answered and the researcher’s hypotheses were both confirmed. This helps the

researcher to achieve his research objectives about Standard Arabic interference in

EFL academic writing. However, the researcher implies some guidelines for future

research about this problem of L1 transfer in EFL writing. For future research, it is

advised to investigate in details learners’ errors and to make a complete analysis and

assessment of their essays.

32

However, this study was somehow limited by time since the researcher could

not deal with the analysis of learners’ errors by himself with another research tool,

which could be testing their essays or paragraphs. This could lead to better results and

could help the researcher to reach generalization.

33

Bibliography

Al-Buainain, H. (2010). Researching types and causes of errors in Arabic speakers' writings.

Qatar University. Retrieved from ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/001054/current.

Al-Jarf, R. (n.d.). Interlingual pronoun errors in English-Arabic translation. Retrieved from

http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fass/projects/corpus/UCCTS2010Proceedings/papers/Al-jarf.pdf

Andrew P, Johnson.(2016). What is Academic and Professional Writing. Minnesota State

University, Mankato.

Atlee, N. (2005). Advancing Writing Skills: A guide to Authentic Writing. Dandy Lion

Publication.

Bell, J., Burnaby, B. (1984). A Handbook for ESL Literacy. Toronto: OISE Press.

Byrne, D.(1988).Teaching Writing Skills. London and New York: Longman House.

…………(1991). Teaching writing skills-longman handbooks of language teachers.

Longman: London.

Collins ,A. (2003).Writing Approaches (Class Handout).English Division,Faculty of Letters

and Languages, Mohammed Kheithe. University of Biskra.

Collins, J. J. (2008). The Collins Writing Program: Improving Student Performance Through

Writing and Thinking Skills Across the Curriculum. West Newbury, MA: Collins Education

Associates.

Connor, U.(1996). Contrastive Rhetoric. Indian University at Indianapolis: Cambridge

University Press.

Cope & Kalantzis (1993). The power of literacy: A genre approach to teaching writing.

Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.

Corder, S. (1967). The significance of learners' errors. Reprinted in J.C.Richards (ed.) (1974,

1984) Error Analysis: Perspectives on Second Language Acquisition. London: Longman, pp.

34

19 - 27 (Originally in International Review of Applied Linguistics, 5 (4)), pp. 160-170.

Retrieved from: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED019903.pdf

……………. (1971). Idiosyncratic Dialects and Error Analysis. IRAL, 9(2), 147-160.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/iral.1971.9.2.147..

……………... (1981). Error Analysis and Interlanguage (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University

press.

……………... (1983). A role for the mother tongue. In Language Transfer in Language

Learning, ed. by Susan Gass and Larry Selinker. Rowley, Mass Newbury House.

………………. (1992). A role for the mother tongue. In S. Gass and L. Selinker (Eds.),

Language Transfer in Language Learning, 2nd ed. (pp. 18–31). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Dahaj, A, M.(2012). Analysing Learners’ Language Awareness in Written Production:

Product-oriented Vs. Process-oriented Approaches. (Master’s Thesis). Linkoping University,

Sweden.

Dirgeyasa, Wy. I. (2015). What and How to Assess a Genre-Based Writing. Proceeding of 4th

International Conference on Language Education. 2015. State University of Makasar South

Sulewesi ,Indonesia.

Ellis, R. (2008). The Study of Second Language Acquisition (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford

University Press.

Fries, C. C. (1945). Teaching and Learning English as a Second Language. Ann Arbor :

University of Michigan Press.

Ferris, D. (2002). Treatment of error in second language writing. Michigan: The University

of Michigan Press.

Fujieda, Y. (Mars, 2006). A brief historical sketch of second language writing studies: A

retrospective. Retrieved Ivlay, 2009, from http://www.kyoai.jp/college/ronshuu/no-06/fujieda

pdf.

35

Ghodbane (2010). Identification and Analysis of Some Factors Behind Students’ Poor Writing

Production (Magister’s Thesis). University of Setif, Algeria.

Halliday,M.A.K. and Hasan, R. (1989) Language, Context and Text: Aspects of Language in

a Social-Semiotic Perspective (First published 1985, Victoria: Deakin University Press).

Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hamadouche, M.(2010). Developing the Writing Skill Through Increasing Learners’

Awareness of The Writing Process .(Master Thesis). University of Canstantine.

Harmer, J. (2004). How to teach writing. England: Longman, Hartley.

…………..(2001). The practice of English language teaching (3rd ed). England: Pearson

Education Limited.

Hedge, T. (2000). Teaching and learning in the language classroom. Oxford: Oxfor

University Press.

Hyland, K. (2002). Teaching and research on writing. London: Longman.

…………...(2003). Second language writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

……………(2004). Genre and Second Language Writing. University of Michigan Press.

Jason.(2017). Steps for Improving Writing : The Rocket Language Bloc.

József, H. (2001). Advanced writing in English as a foreign language: A corpus-based study

of processes and products. Pécs: Lingua Franca Csoport.

Krashen, S. D. (1981). Second language acquisition and second language learning. University

of Southern California: Pergamon press Inc.

Lado, R. (1957) .Linguistics across Cultures: Applied Linguistics and Language Teachers.

University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.

……….. (1964) .Language teaching: a scientific approach. New York: McGraw Hill Inc.

36

Matsuda P. K. (2003). Second language writing in the twentieth century: A situated historical

perspective. In Kroll (Ed.) Exploring the dynamics of second language writing. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

Nemouchi, A. (2008). Writing connection with grammar and literature in the study

organization of the LMD system at the University of Constantine, Univesity of Constantine.

Nemser, W. (1971b). Approximative systems of foreign learners. International Review of

Applied Linguistics, 9, 115–124.

Nunan, D. (1999). Second Language Teaching and Learning. Boston: Thomson/Heinle.

Odlin, T.(1989). Language Transfer. The Ohio State University : Cambridge University

Press.

Oxford Collocation Dictionary. (2009). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Perutz, V. (2010). A Helpful Guide to Essay Writing! Anglia Ruskin University: Cambridge

and Chelmsford.

Raimes, A. (1985). What unskilled ESL students do as they write: A classroom study of

composing. TESOL Quarterly, 19, 229-258.

…………... (1993). Out of the woods: Emerging traditions in the teaching of writing. In S.

Silberstein, State of the Art TESOL Essays. Washington, D.C.: TESOL.

Reigstad, G. R. (2008). Best Practice in Writing Instruction K-8. Retrieved from

http://differentiatedinstruction. efoliomn.com/Uploads/Written Language Research.doc.

Richards, J. C. (1971). Error analysis and second language strategies. Language Science 17:

12-22.

Richards, J. C., & Renandya, W. A. (Eds.) (2002). Methodology in Language Teaching: An

Anthology of Current Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511667190.

37

Richards, J. C., & Schmidt, R. (Eds.). (2002). Longman dictionary of language teaching and

applied linguistics(3rd ed.). London: Longman.

Saeidi, M., Sahebkheir, F. (2011). The effect of model essays on accuracy and complexity of

EFL learners’ writing performance. Middle- East Journal of Scientific Research, 10(1), 130-

137.

Selinker, L. (1969). lnterlanguage, IRAL, 3, 114·132.

………….. (1972). Interlanguage. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 10, 209–231.

Selinker, L., & Lakshmanan, U. (1992). Language transfer and fossilization: The multiple

effects principle. In S.Gass, & L. Selinker (Eds.), Language transfer in language learning

(pp. 197-216). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/lald.5.13sel.

Silva, T. (1993). Toward an understanding of the distinct nature of L2 writing: The ESL

research and its implications. TESOL Quarterly, 27(4), 657–677.

Stenson, N. 1978. Induced Errors. In J. Schumann & N. Stenson, (Eds.), ,New frontiers in

second language learning. Rowley, Massachusetts: Newbury House Publishing, Inc.

Tangpermpoon, T. (2008). Integrated Approaches to Improve Students Writing Skills for

English Major Students. ABAC Journal, 28(2): 1-9.

Thoreau, M. (2006). Write on Track. New Zealand: Pearson Education New Zealand.

Wardaugh,R.(1970). Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis. TESOL quarterly, 1970 – JSTOR.

Weinreich, U. (1953). Languages in Contact. New York: Linguistic Circle of New York.

Whitman, R., and Jackson, K. (1972). The unpredictability of contrastive analysis. Language

Learning, 22, 29–41.

Widdowson, H. (1986). Explorations in Applied Linguistics. Oxford University Press.

38

Appendices

39

Appendix A :

Teachers’ Questionnaire

40

Teachers' Questionnaire Dear Teachers,

This questionnaire is designed for the purpose of gathering data about the interference

of Arabic (L1) in first year EFL students' writing. You are kindly requested to fill in this

questionnaire:

1. Do first year EFL students make a lot of errors in their writing?

Yes No

2. What kind of errors do they make?

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

3. Do you think that first year EFL students make a transfer from Arabic to English when

writing in English?

Yes No

4. If yes, is it more:

Positive Negative

5. Why do EFL students do such transfer in writing?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

6. In your opinion, what are the effects of the Arabic interference on English writing?

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

41

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

7. Do you think that the errors made by EFL students are caused by Arabic interference?

Yes No

8. If yes, how? (Please give examples)

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

9. According to you, what are the suggestions and the strategies to avoid the transfer from

Arabic to English while writing?

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

Thank you for your cooperation

42

Appendix B :

Students’ Questionnaire

43

Students' Questionnaire

This questionnaire aims at gathering data about the interference of Arabic in academic

writing among first year EFL learners. You are kindly requested to fill in this questionnaire:

- Please, put a cross (X) when necessary.

1. How do you evaluate your Arabic writing level?

Weak Average Excellent

2. How is your writing level in English?

Weak Average Excellent

3. According to you, writing in English is:

Easy Difficult

4. Do you think in Arabic when you are writing in English?

Yes No

5. Do you transfer from Arabic to English when you are writing in English?

Yes No

6. Do you make a lot of errors while writing in English?

Yes No

7. If yes, why?

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

8. Do you think that these errors are caused by the transfer from Arabic to English?

Yes No

44

9. If yes, how? (Please give examples).

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

10. In your opinion, what are the suggestions to avoid such a problem when writing?

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

Thank You

45

Summary : Writing is an important skill for language production. However, it is considered as a difficult skill,

particularly, in English as a second/foreign language ( ESL/EFL) contexts. Thus, the present study was

conducted with an aim to investigate first year LMD students’ English writing errors and their relation with

learners’ first language (Standard Arabic) at Tlemcen University. It also aimed at finding out the extent of SA

interference in their English academic essays, and knowing whether this transfer between L1 and L2 was more

negative or positive. Moreover, the researcher aimed at obtaining strategies and suggestions on how to

improve EFL learners' writing skills and to reduce their errors while writing academic essays. Therefore, in

order to achieve the previous mentioned aims, the researcher has used both teachers’ and learners’

questionnaires. The data that was collected revealed that Tlemcen University students of English make a lot of

errors in their academic writing, and those errors have a great relation with their first language interference.

Thus, students tend to transfer linguistic rules from SA to English whenever they have linguistic gaps in the

target language (English).

Key words: writing, EFL, Standard Arabic, L1, L2, interference, transfer, errors, linguistic gaps.

Résumé:

L’écriture est une compétence importante pour la production linguistique. Cependant, il est considéré

comme une compétence difficile, en particulier, dans les contextes de la langue Anglaise comme une langue

étrangère. Ainsi, la présente étude a été menée dans le but d’étudier les erreurs d’écriture en Anglais des

étudiants de première année LMD et leur relation avec la langue maternelle des apprenants (Arabe Standard) à

l’Université de Tlemcen. Elle visait également à déterminer l’ampleur de l’interférence de l’AS dans leurs

essais universitaires en anglais et à savoir si ce transfert entre L1 et L2 était plus négatif ou positif. De plus, le

chercheur visait à obtenir des stratégies et des suggestions sur la façon d’améliorer les compétences des

apprenants en rédaction de l’EFL et de réduire leurs erreurs quand rédigeant des essais académiques. Par

conséquent, afin d’atteindre les objectifs susmentionnés, le chercheur a utilisé à la fois un questionnaire pour

les professeurs de l’écrit et un autre questionnaire pour les étudiants de la 1ère année Anglais. Les données

recueillies ont révélé que les étudiants d’Anglais à l’Université de Tlemcen commettent beaucoup d’erreurs

dans leurs essais académiques, et ces erreurs ont une grande relation avec leur interférence dans la langue

maternelle. Ainsi, les élèves ont tendance à transférer les règles linguistiques de l’AS à l’anglais chaque fois

qu’ils ont des lacunes linguistiques dans la langue cible (Anglais).

Les mots clés : écriture, Anglais, langue étrangère, Arabe Standard, L1, L2, interférence, transférer, erreurs.

:التلخیص

یة تعتبر الكتابة مھارة مھمة لتحریر نصوص إنشائیة في لغة ما. لكن مع ذلك، فإنھا تعتبر مھارة صعبة خاصة اثناء الكتابة باللغة اإلنجلیز

ة بالنسبة لطلبة السنة األولى انجلیزي في جامع كلغة أجنبیة ثانیة. ولھذا أجریت الدراسة الحالیة بھدف البحث في ودراسة األخطاء اإلنشائیة

اللغة األولى على الثانیة تأثیركما تھدف ھذه الدراسة أیضا الى معرفة مدى الفصحى). (العربیةاألخطاء بلغتھم األولى وعالقة تلكتلمسان

. ولبلوغ األھداف المذكورة المرتكبة اإلنشائیةاألخطاء والحد من واقتراحات للتقلیلكما ان الباحث سعى الى إیجاد حلول ).أكثر(سلبیا ام إیجابیا

46

السنة األولى انجلیزي في جامعة تلمسان. بعد تحلیل المعلومات حد ألساتذة التعبیر الكتابي واخر لطلبةاستعمل الباحث استبیانین وا سابقا،

یجدون اللغة الھدف عندما یلھا الىوتحوغتھم االم ى استخدام قواعد ووحدات لسانیة من لالمقترحة تم تأكید فرضیة لجوء طلبة اللغة اإلنجلیزیة ال

صعوبة في الكتابة باللغة اإلنجلیزیة.

التعبیر الكتابي. الكتابة، لغة اجنبیة ثانیة، األخطاء اإلنشائیة، تأثیر اللغة األولى، العربیة الفصحى، :الكلمات المفتاحیة